Watson family wins Zim challenge rally

Independence.
The last husband-and-wife team to win the race was Don and Jackie McDonald way back in 1973.
They had earlier first won this race in 1965.
However, Jess and Sasha Watson wrote their own piece of history when they clinched the 2012 Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally title at the end of the three-day motor racing event at the Cresta Lodge in Harare yesterday.
They were in a Mitsubishi Lancer.
A seasoned campaigner in the local motor rallying scene, Jess Watson had his wife Sasha as his co-driver in one of the two husband-and-wife teams that took part in this tough motor rallying event.
And their combination was a success as they came first in the race in a total of 2 hours 40 minutes 17 seconds in their N4 Mitsubishi Lancer.
Sasha also became the first female co-driver to win the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally since Zimbabwe attained its Independence in April 1980.
The race was for the second-year running coming in as the opening leg of the tough eight-event 2012 FIA African Rally Championship series.
Out of the 15 cars that were flagged off on Day One on Friday afternoon, only seven finished the race and among them were three foreign drivers.
The Watsons received a major boost ahead of this year’s event when the Green Fuel Team, which supported last year’s winner, Conrad Rautenbach, came on board to support the couple.
And the likeable husband-and-wife team finished a good seven minutes ahead of second-placed Craig Green and his co-driver Mike Exton, both from Zimbabwe. Third-place went to Zambia’s young Mohammed Essa and his Zimbabwean navigator Greg Stead who completed the race in 2 hours 51 minutes 2 seconds. Coming up against the likes of former champion Jamie Whyte, the Watsons knew they did not have time to mess around. And they kept their composure during the three days of high octane racing to emerge as the overall winners of this year’s Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally.
And Jess Watson was impressed with his overall performance in this race as he clinched the title for the first time in his motor rallying career after several years of competing.
“It was tough. We had to push from the start. We knew we didn’t have time to play around and we needed to push hard.
“After the first service yesterday (on Saturday) in Ruwa, we found out that some of the guys had dropped out (of the race) and we could easy off a little bit.
“I’m very happy with the car and everything worked out. We are very happy with Green Fuel and other sponsors who backed us,” Jess Watson said.
Before the weekend’s race, former champion Conrad Rautenbach had predicted that the couple would walk away with this year’s title and Jess Watson said they are excited they have fulfilled the prediction.
“We are very happy with Green Fuel and other sponsors who backed us. I’m very glad that we managed to fulfill Conrad’s prediction.
“The level of competition was very tough. I’m very satisfied with my performance. I have been trying to win this event for so many years. I have been coming second and third on numerous occasions and I am very happy that I’ve finally won it . . . I feel excellent and overwhelmed,” Jess Watson said.
The 39-year-old driver added that there were some challenges they managed to overcome during the weekend’s event.
“In the late stage, we had a very big spin-up but you know it’s all the same for everyone. We all do the same stages and being the first car in the stages, we needed a sufficient gap and we managed to maintain the gap,” Jess Watson said.
He also said that he was now looking forward to competing in this year’s African Rally Championship series.
“The Green Fuel Team has been supporting us and if they would like us to go (for the ARC series), we will seriously consider it. It’s more about sponsorship,” Jess Watson said.
His wife, Sasha, who was racing for the fourth time, was an excited woman after yesterday’s victory.
“It’s phenomenal and to have won the race on its 50th anniversary is exciting.
This is my fourth race and prior to that he (Jess) had another navigator and it’s our first time to race together. It was fantastic.
“The race was tight at the beginning but it’s very sad that most of the top drivers pulled out because it would have been good to have a healthy competition,” said Sasha. On fourth position was Giancarlo Davite and Sylvia Vindevogel from Rwanda while young Tyronne Carr of Zimbabwe, who was making his debut appearance in this event, and his co-driver Clint Ashdown came fifth. Another husband-and-wife team of Ronald Parsell and Bronwyn Ebrahim settled for sixth place and on seventh position was South Africa’s Pieter Pilusa and his Zimbabwean navigator George Chitepo. Pilusa said his aim in this year’s event was to finish the race, a dream which came true yesterday when he finished on seventh position.
“The race was very tough compared to (racing in)  South Africa. The Zimbabwean people have been supportive from scratch to the end, especially the Chitepo family.
“My car is a 140GX which is very small but we drove that car up to the fullest.
“My aim was to finish this race. I knew if I finished this race I would have accomplished my achievement. I am very happy the car did well although we had some problems with the shock absorbers but anything can happen during a motor rallying race.
“This is not only the car but this is an endurance race so it works psychologically, the road and the car.
“Next year, I believe I will bring four or five South African drivers with me. I want to say thank you to the Zimbabwean people, the sponsors and the fans. I got a lot of friendship in Zimbabwe. Next year I will compete again,” said Pilusa.
The three-day event started on Friday afternoon with the first stage of the race taking place at the home of local motorsport — Donnybrook.
The early stages of the race saw one of Zimbabwe’s top female drivers Laureen Marufu crashing out of the event when she hit a tree which left her Toyota RunX with a damaged radiator and front suspension.
Marufu was immediately followed on the sidelines by another top Zimbabwean female driver Michelle Yorke whose Mitsubishi Evo4 developed an electrical fault.
Former defending champion Jamie Whyte pulled out of the race on Saturday together with one of the pre-race favourites Chase Attwell.
Attwell experienced some problems with his car as its steering was very hard and he hit a small stump and broke the front wheel in Ruwa on Saturday and this forced him out of the race.
This year’s race attracted a good field of 15 cars including four foreign competitors from South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia.